[fabsroman]

The bad behaviour is the result of poor upbringing, most likely because parents do not spend the amount of time with their kids that they should. We are to busy multi-tasking to spend real time with our kids.

As far as the helmet is concerned, I still think it is a good idea. I read way too many cases where bad things happen and a lot of them could be prevented. Yeah, most of us survived when we were kids, but one of my friends wrecked in a bike race and ended up paralyzed. He ended up breaking a vertebrae in his neck when his head hit the asphalt and he was wearing a helmet. I am sure the helmet saved his life. Granted, the rest of you might say he is better off dead than paralyzed, but who really knows buy him. Things happen, like me almost running over a young boy while leaving the post office today. There must have been about 15 of them riding their BMX bikes on the sidewalk on the opposite side of the street. I was pulling out of the post office and making a left. At the same time, one of these kids decided to be smart and jump the curb and ride across the lane I was trying to turn into, the middle turn lane, and the oncoming traffic lane so that he could get across the street. He didn't see me in the middle of my turn when he decided to execute the manuever, and was quite surprised to see my car there. Luckily, nothing happened, but he also wasn't wearing a helmet.

The helmet laws aren't there to make people money, I can guarantee you that. Look at the motrocycle helmet laws. I think they are a good thing. My brother survived a wreck at 100 mph and his helmet was all scraped up. He can remember hearing the helmet scrape against the asphalt while he was wondering how long it would be before he stopped. The only thing he "forgot" to wear that afternoon was his leather jacket because it was going to be a short ride to Hooters. Guess what, most of his road rash was on his upper body and he had a worn out a spot of skin the size of a quarter on his elbow to the extent that we could see bone.

I bet Ben Roethlisberger (sp.) regrets "forgetting" his helmet in the basement before his motorcycle wreck. How somebody can "forget" their helmet is beyond me. When I am riding my bicycle, I feel naked without my helmet on. Likewise, I feel naked without my seatbelt on while I am driving.

Yes, some safety items outweight their benefit, but a $20 helmet for a child that could possibly save that child's life isn't one of them, especially if they are your kid. My dad would never let me out on the street to go on a training ride without my helmet, and I hated it, but now I see his point.

Just as we do not point a gun at anybody because it MIGHT be loaded, we should wear helmets because we MIGHT get into an accident.

I have ABS, airbags, and seatbelts in my car, and you can bet they were included in the price of the car one way or another. I have never used them and will be happy to never ever have to use them. Same goes for my life insurance. Same goes for my bicycle helmet.

Yeah, kids are terrible nowadays, and if you kid is like what you described, you have nobody to blame but you and the child's mother. However, that doesn't mean they should go without a helmet while riding a bike. It just means they should get a good spanking (i.e., the PC term) and a stiff punishment for their actions.